The most popular genre in historical surroundings usually only wins, swords or swords, unusual costumes and rituals attract the great interest of moviegoers. However, the best adventure films were shot about the relatively recent events of the Great Patriotic War. About the ancient times of historical action films in Russian, quite a bit is shot.
"Alexander. The Battle of Neva" (2008)
One of the first Russian historical fighters with a good budget, according to various sources, from 8 to 10 million dollars, received more bad reviews than good. The film did not have large-scale battle scenes; the bulk of the warring Swedes and Novgorodians were portrayed by reenactors.
The action takes place in the 13th century, when the young prince Alexander (Anton Pampushny) with a firm hand rules in the stronghold of Russian democracy - the Novgorod Republic. The people love him, they hate bad boyars. The prince marries the princess of Polotsk, the beautiful Alexandra (Svetlana Bakulina), to whom his best friend, combatant Ratmir (Igor Botvin), inflamed with passion. Swedish knights plotting a crusade on Russian soil. The film ends with the scene of the defeat of the Swedes, for which Alexander received the nickname Nevsky.
"Druzhina" (2015th)
Russian historical action movie about 13th-century Novgorod warriors and the young prince Alexander Nevsky, shot in the form of a mini-series. Received good reviews from the audience for a dynamic plot full of fights and adventures. The television series consisted of four films.
The Novgorod squad, led by the governor Godun (Sergei Vorobyov), opposes the machinations of rebellious boyars who want to take the patronage of the Pope. A small detachment, including the experienced warrior Evpatiy (Pavel Badyrov), is sent to a small village lost in the woods in order to find and deliver the boy Alexander to Novgorod.
Viking (2016th)
Probably the most expensive film in the history of Russian cinema is a Russian historical action movie with a budget of 1.25 billion rubles. Therefore, despite the huge fees by the standards of the country, some critics write that the picture at the box office did not pay off. "Viking" received very conflicting reviews, noted the magnitude, but criticized for historical inaccuracy in the description of pre-Christian Russia.
The events described in the film take place in the 10th century, the Prince of Novgorod Vladimir Svyatoslavovich (Daniil Kozlovsky) goes with the Varangian squad to avenge the death of his brother to the Kiev Prince Yaropolk (Alexander Ustyugov). The first city in the campaign was Polotsk, which he takes by storm. Prince of Polotsk Rogvold (Andrei Smolyakov) and his wife are being killed. Vladimir rapes and marries Polotsk Princess Rogneda (Alexandra Bortich). Next was Kiev, which he captured without a fight. Having become the Kiev prince, the de facto ruler of Ancient Russia, Vladimir comes to Christianity. The film ends with the scene of the baptism of Kiev.
"The Legend of Kolovrat" (2017th)
The last Russian historical action film with fantasy elements that came out on the big screen received quite warm reviews from viewers and critics. According to the authors, they abandoned the meticulous reproduction of historical events, and decided to show a legend with bad and good images.
The picture takes place in the 13th century, when Russia broke up into individual small principalities. Ryazan ten's manager Evpatiy Kolovrat (Ilya Malakov) got his nickname after the battle with the Mongols at Kalka, where he was seriously wounded and began to suffer from memory loss. In 1237, the troops of Khan Batu (Alexander Tsoi) again moved to Russia. Evpatiy with a handful of combatants holds the defense on a high hill. They manage to hold down the movement of the Mongolian troops for a long time, enabling other principalities to better prepare for the invasion.
This is the first Russian historical action movie that was purchased by many countries, including the United States, Germany, France, Spain and Mongolia.